


яε∂ αs яσsεs (ON HOLD)

by Nagisa_Akabane



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Cuddles, F/F, F/M, Fighting, Fluff, Love Confessions, Mild Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Roman is at least 20, Ruby's almost 17, Soulmates, Supportive Neo, Violence, Volume 5 AU, cuteness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 00:49:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13493349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nagisa_Akabane/pseuds/Nagisa_Akabane
Summary: "Red like roses fills my head with dreams and finds me, always closer to the emptiness and sadness that has come to take the place of you."





	яε∂ αs яσsεs (ON HOLD)

_"Roman Torchwick, Neapolitan, you both are being set free. Only under the condition that neither of you go back to your evil ways."_

**_Back to my evil ways? Never... I have a little Red to see, after all._ **

**_~~~~~~_ **

"Well, Ruby? What do you think?" Yang asked, looking over at the younger girl. Ruby gave a small nod, although she didn't really know what had been said. "Great!" Yang grinned. "That means the teams will be me, Blake, Oscar and Ren, then Weiss, you, Jaune, and Nora!"

Ruby blinked a few times, trying to remember exactly what the 'teams' were for. But her thinking was interrupted when her scroll dinged at her. Everyone had their attention on her now, Qrow and Yang being the ones looking more interested then anyone else. She grabbed her scroll before Yang could, and quickly checked to see who had sent her a message.

"I'll be right back," she stood up then quickly headed to the roof, her grip on her scroll rather tight. Once getting to the roof, she looked at the message again.

**_Hey, Red. Guess who's back._ **

Tears began to fill her eyes and she quickly called the person, her heart beginning to race. Her throat felt tight when the person picked up and she heard his familiar voice.  _"Hello?"_

"Roman..." She breathed out, wiping away her tears. "You're still alive." A laugh filled her ears, and it made her heart beat hard against her chest. _"Of course I'm still alive, Red! I've just been locked up, along with Neo."_

"I saw you get eaten by a Grimm..." Ruby shivered at the memory, shutting her eyes.  _"Well...yes, that did happen, but I got free, found Neo, then we both were locked up. But enough about me,"_ Roman's voice turned to a more serious one,  _"how have you been doing, Red?"_

"You know, you can just call me Ruby," she laughed softly, "I've been fine, for the most part. I'm in Mistral now... My friends...my family are here as well." Tears began to fill her eyes again, as she moved to sit down. "It's been tough, Roman... I saw a friend die before my very eyes, I found out I have some freaky powers, I almost lost my uncle... You were right, you were so right." She was full on crying at this point.

_"...About what, Red?"_

"About the real w-world. About h-how it's cold... If what h-happened doesn't prove that, t-then I don't know what w-will."

There was silence, outside of the distant voices on the other side. Then she heard his voice again. _"Hang tight for me, okay, Red? I'll be there soon."_ Her eyes widened immediately. "Wait, Roman, you c-can't! You'll g-get caught! O-Ozpin... he's h-here, and will recognize you i-immediately!"

 _"And who's to say he'll even know it's me?"_ After that, the only noise was the small ding to signal that the call ended. Ruby moved the scroll away from her ear, staring at the screen in disbelief. "Roman..."

_**~~~~~~** _

It's been a few months since then. Ruby's friends found out about Roman and Neo being back, despite her trying to keep it a secret, and for the most part had been accepting in letting them hang around. Blake, Oscar/Ozpin, and Qrow seemed to be the only ones not very fine with it. Well, Qrow was fine with it, unless Roman got too touchy with Ruby. 

They were currently in the living room area, Weiss quietly talking with Neo, who gave small nods to show that she was listening, Yang and Blake were talking with each other, Nora was messing with Ren's hair and seeing how many times she could put it in little ponytails, Jaune and Oscar were going over strategies, and Ruby was messing with Roman's hair, which now reached down to his shoulders. 

She was laughing, talking about how she could easily braid his hair, and it made him feel happy. He was glad to be able to see her smile around him, after the pain he had caused for her in the past. He'd always wanted to get closer to her...

"Y'know, I think you'd look great with longer hair, Red." Roman spoke quietly so only she would hear. Her eyes widened at this, and her cheeks turned a bright red, before she quickly shook her head. "N-nah, it'd just get in the way." 

Before Roman could reply, Yang moved to the middle of the room and shouted 'Hey!' to get everyone's attention. Once she knew she had their attention, she placed her hands on her hips. "There's a ceremony soon, one held for heroes and whatnot. A friend of ours from Beacon is hosting it, and I was just talking with Blake and Jaune about how we should take that chance to show to the people of Mistral, of Remnant, that a former criminal is now on our side against Salem." Her gaze was directly on Roman when she said that last bit. "You are on our side now, correct?"

Roman gave a small grin. "I was never on Salem's side, Blondie." Yang rolled her eyes at the nickname, before gesturing for Blake and Jaune to come stand beside her. They discussed the plans and whatnot, when and where the ceremony will take place, and looked to Qrow and Ozpin for approval. Qrow sighed, then nodded, agreeing to it, finding it pointless to argue against such.

Ozpin was a bit more reluctant on agreeing, but he eventually agreed as well. Which then started the plans for the ceremony.

_**~~~~~~** _

It was a few weeks later, maybe two, and the ceremony was being held. Ruby was waiting with Roman at the steps, smiling brightly as she listened to Yang talk to the people who were all there. They were all wearing something different than usual, mostly thanks to Weiss suggesting such.

Ruby was wearing a red dress that ended just a bit past her thighs and faded into a black at the ends, along with having a few roses here and there. The sleeves were off the shoulder and went a bit past her fingers, but she was fine with it. She also had on a pair of black leggings with red designs, along with black flats. 

Roman had on a pair of black pants, a gray shirt with black, swirling designs, along with a gray-black scarf and a white jacket tied around his waist. He had on a pair of combat boots, and his hair was pulled back into a small ponytail.

The others wore something similar to their original outfits, Blake and Qrow being the only two who didn't have a different outfit. 

After Yang finished speaking, she gestured for Roman and Ruby to come up to the stage. Ruby grinned then grabbed Roman's hand and walked quickly up the steps. Roman had a bit of trouble keeping up, for being so small, she sure walked fast. Once they were on the stage, Yang smiled at Ruby then let her take over. 

The younger girl smiled at the blonde, before turning to the crowd, grabbing Roman's hand. "Hi, everyone!" She waved to the crowd. "I'm so glad you guys could make it, as I have some very important news!" She looked at Roman, smiling, before facing the crowd again. "Someone who used to be a criminal is now back and working with me and the rest of my friends!"

Whispers spread through the crowd, and Roman had this uneasy feeling in his stomach. He glanced around, biting down on his lip. People were giving him judging glances... He never felt so uneasy, he used to have the White Fang under his call after all! So why was he feeling so uneasy now? He glanced at Ruby, noticing how worried she looked, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"It's alright, people of Mistral!" He decided to speak. "Little Red here and her friends convinced me out of my criminal ways. I'm on their side now, not against them. You don't have to worry about me trying to take over Remnant anymore, I've...learned from my mistakes."

Ruby looked at him upon hearing him say this, and couldn't help but smile, giving his hand a small squeeze. They soon walked off the stage, but as Roman was walking down the stairs, someone kicked his back, causing him to stumble forward and almost fall. He would've if Ruby hadn't quickly grabbed his hand again and used what she had of strength to keep him up.

A small part of him was so tempted on pulling her down with him, but he wasn't able to. Ruby held onto his hand, before turning to look at Blake, who had been the one to kick Roman. "Blake! Why?!" 

"He's still an enemy of mine, Ruby! He always will be, along with Adam!" She narrowed her eyes. "I don't care if he's supposedly good now, I will never accept him as a teammate." She then walked off the stage, purposely bumping into Roman as she walked. Roman would've snapped at her, if he hadn't been pulled into a hug by Ruby. He hesitated for a few moments, before letting himself relax and hug back.

He remembered, back when he and Neo would younger, how Neo would always promise that things were going to be better, and that hugs were a way of sealing said promise. He had been given lots of hugs from her, each time made him remember her promise. Each one made him feel safe, and hope for a happy ending. But getting hugs from Ruby... They felt different, in a good way. He felt warmth, and happiness, and...dare he say, love. He felt that safety, that hope, all over again.

_Jeez, Red... I think I might just be falling for you... Heh, who would've thought..._


End file.
